


The Weight of Overwhelm

by j_louise



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Cuddling, Detailed Description of Crying, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Soft Doctor (Doctor Who), emotional breakdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:21:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27442594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_louise/pseuds/j_louise
Summary: Most of the time, when they re-entered the TARDIS after one of their adventures, Rose felt full of energy - high on adrenaline, the feeling of it buzzing in her veins. Most of the time she would hang around and chatter happily with the Doctor until the adrenaline dropped, exhaustion hit, and she trudged off to have a shower. Sometimes though, she would come back to the TARDIS already feeling tired and just wanting to get away on her own for a little bit. This was one of those times.OrRose cries and the Doctor comforts her.
Relationships: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler
Comments: 7
Kudos: 48





	The Weight of Overwhelm

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, how I love to project onto my favourite characters. Forgive me, Nine is my comfort character and I need to get this one out of me. 
> 
> Dedicated to DearDiary for just beating me to it with a crying Rose/comforting Doctor fic. (Go and read it, it's really good!)

Most of the time, when they re-entered the TARDIS after one of their adventures, Rose felt full of energy - high on adrenaline, the feeling of it buzzing in her veins. Most of the time she would hang around and chatter happily with the Doctor until the adrenaline dropped, exhaustion hit, and she trudged off to have a shower. Sometimes though, she would come back to the TARDIS already feeling tired and just wanting to get away on her own for a little bit. This was one of those times. 

As much as she and the Doctor helped and saved as many people as possible, sometimes they weren’t always able to save everyone. While she always saw amazing things when she was with him, she also saw a lot of suffering and pain. Death too, all too often. This trip had been one of those times when she had seen too much pain, felt too much fear for too long, and they had made a narrow escape. She simply felt overwhelmed as she followed the Doctor back into the control room of the TARDIS, the gentle hum calming her nerves just slightly. She closed the doors behind her, and pressed her back against them, feeling her chest clench. She watched the Doctor head immediately over to the console and begin piloting them away from the planet and into the time vortex. She was grateful to get away, and she was grateful for the silence that lingered in the room too. She felt too completely exhausted and overwhelmed to talk. In fact, all she really wanted was to curl up in her bed and cry, and she knew from the lump in her throat and the pricking in her eyes that, if she didn’t head to her room soon, she would end up crying in front of him. That was something she really didn’t want, as it would probably have made the both of them feel immensely awkward. So, she thought, time for one of her speedy escapes. 

“I think I’m just going to head to my room.” She told him, focusing on keeping her voice from wobbling too much despite it coming out a lot smaller and quieter than normal. 

He glanced up from the console, a frown on his face “You alright?” he asked, voice softer than usual. 

“Course,” she nodded, “just need a bit of a lie down.” 

He gave her a tight-lipped smile, the frown lifting only slightly. “Alright. Shout if you need me.” 

She nodded again, grateful for his easy acceptance, and turned her back on him as her eyes threatened to well up. She had to get out of here quickly. “Cheers. See you in a bit,” she called as she headed down the corridor towards her bedroom. 

She had intended to keep her tears from falling until she’d actually reached her room and shut the door behind her but she couldn’t help a couple of quick, hot tears from streaking silently down her face as she strode quickly away from the control room. Reaching her bedroom door, she pressed her lips together hard, feeling her shoulders tense as she entered, and closed the door softly behind her. She couldn’t help a choked sob forcing its way out of her throat the moment the door shut. Kicking her shoes off, she felt more hot tears spill over onto her cheeks, and she collapsed onto her bed ungracefully, curling onto her side. As soon as she lay down, she couldn’t prevent the sobs that had been building since they’d returned from forcing their way out of her body, wracking her frame as her lungs were crushed by the weight of her overwhelm. 

As the tears continued and her breath hitched, she couldn’t help but feel a bit silly. It wasn’t as if she was crying over anything in particular. She just felt so overwhelmed and bone-deep tired. It was a lot - traveling to faraway universes and helping to save people she’d only just met before whizzing off somewhere completely new. Not that she didn’t love it - she loved it more than anything in the world and she wouldn’t trade it for anything. It just sometimes got a bit much and it would build and build inside her before her feelings forced their way out of her body whether she liked it or not. She thought it was probably quite reasonable for her to have a bit of an emotional breakdown now and again - although she did feel a little pathetic when she tried to take a deep breath through her nose and found that she was all bunged up and snotty from her crying fit. Taking a deep breath through her mouth that caught noisily in her chest, she pushed herself off the bed and headed to her ensuite bathroom in order to grab some toilet paper. Tearing off a few squares, she blew her nose ungracefully and avoided looking in the mirror as she headed back to her bed. She was pretty sure the sorry sight she would have been greeted with would have just made her cry more. 

Curling back up on the bed, she pressed the tissue against one of her eyes as she felt her face crumple again. Clearly, her body wasn’t quite finished in cleansing itself of the stress of the day. She’d only been laying there a minute or so when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. 

“Rose?” The Doctor’s voice called through the other side of the door. “You alright if I come in?” 

“Um,” she said, her voice sounding thick and wobbly. “One sec.” Rose pushed herself up to lean against the headboard, wiping her eyes with the tissue, feeling slightly panicked. She could wipe the wetness away but she knew she couldn’t hide the way her lashes clumped together with tears or the way her cheeks were flushed with heat. 

After a moment or two, the door cracked open slightly, and the Doctor poked his head around to look at her. He took in her appearance, obviously registering that she was upset but not looking particularly surprised. 

“Ah.” he sighed, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. “You alright?” 

Rose nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. Then, feeling her face crumple again, shook her head. No. It wasn’t as if she could really hide it from him. 

“No, of course not. Sorry, silly thing to ask.” He strode over to the bed. “Mind if I sit?” he asked, pointing at the spot of the bedsheet next to her. 

Rose said nothing but moved over to make room for him, hot tears still spilling down her cheeks. 

The Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully removed his shoes, before settling himself down in the space next to her, his legs stretched out in front of him. Rose was surprised out of her self consciousness for a moment at the sight of his shoeless feet, covered only in soft, dark green socks. If it had been another moment she might have laughed, the sight of it so strange and new. It made him look softer, she thought. More human. 

She was brought out of her profound contemplation of the Doctor’s socks by the feeling of his arm reaching behind her to wrap around her shoulders and pull her against him. As his large hand reached up to stroke her hair, she felt her eyes well up again but for quite a different reason. She could not remember the last time she had felt so safe, so cared for. It was so sweet of him. To sit there with her and stroke her hair, just to make her feel more comfortable. She pressed her face into his leather-covered shoulder, as another sob squeezed its way out of her throat. It was softer and quieter than they had been before, but still enough for him to notice. She felt his fingers thread their way into her hair as his thumb continued to stroke her scalp soothingly, his head coming to rest gently on top of hers. 

“Shh,” he hushed her quietly. “That’s okay. You’re okay.” 

She was surprised at the effect those simple words had on her. Her tears continued to trickle slowly out of her eyes, but moment by moment she felt the heaviness of the day lift out of her and her tears begin to slow and dry. As her breaths became slower and more even, the sharpness falling out of them gradually, she relaxed into his shoulder, curling into him and shutting her eyes against the sting that had settled in them. They sat there for a while together, still and quiet. After some time, Rose felt the Doctor’s head move and, heart-stoppingly, she could have sworn he had pressed a light kiss to the top of her head. Rather than give her time to process this act of affection, he let his hand travel back down to her shoulder and tapped his index finger on it lightly before speaking. 

“Come on, then. Shift over a little so I can get this duvet over you.” 

Rose moved away from him, wiping her drying eyes with her tissue once more, as he gently pulled the duvet from under them and lay it over her as she settled further down the bed, resting her head on a pillow. Her eyes drifted up to where he was still sitting on the pillow next to her, and she realised she wanted him to hold her some more. Comfort her further, until she felt completely at ease.

“Will you-” her voice came out scratchy and she cleared her throat. “Will you get in with me? Please.” 

She held his gaze as his eyes bored into her for a moment or two and then, without another word, he shifted down the bed to lie next to her, pulling the duvet over his legs too. When he was settled, the Doctor wrapped his arm around her shoulders again and pulled her into him so that she was curled against his side with her head lay on his chest. His hand then resumed its previous position - buried in her hair with his fingers stroking soothingly against her scalp.  
She supposed she should have felt odd really. Lying in bed with the Doctor. Contrarily, it felt nice. Safe. 

“You gonna be alright, lying here with me?” she asked quietly, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere they’d created. She didn’t want to assume that she wasn’t making him completely uncomfortable, despite the fact he was the one who had initiated all this. Well, most of this.

She felt a light chuckle move her head before he spoke. “I’ll cope, I suppose.” he joked, the rumble of his voice resonating in his chest. 

She turned her face to look up at him. He met her gaze, a smile soft on his face before growing into the beaming grin she had grown to adore so much. It was catching, and she felt a smile begin to grow on her own lips, her heart clenching once more out of fondness. 

Settling back into her position on his chest, she closed her eyes and focused on the sensations of his fingers in her hair and his breath making his chest rise and fall beneath her. Her eyes became heavier and heavier in the quiet of the room. Feeling herself drift off to sleep, she’d never felt more sure. She wouldn’t trade this for anything.


End file.
